


Deus Ex Machina

by Kiintsugi



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mass Effect Fusion, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mass Effect AU, Mutual Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiintsugi/pseuds/Kiintsugi
Summary: When Kara and her cousin's lives are saved by the infamous Luthor family, Lena knows they'll have a serious debt to pay. The Luthor’s aren't exactly known for their contributions to the Citadel Alliance and Lena, well, she has a different plan in mind than her brother. The only question is, can she execute it?+Lex smiled. "I've discovered something incredible.""What does your 'incredible discovery' have to do with me?""I need a scientist," Lex said. "One I can trust to know better than to make miscalculations. Someone who won't let emotions get in the way." He straightened his suit jacket, pulled at his tie. "And you know as well as anyone that no one in the Galaxy can work to the standards of a Luthor except—""A Luthor," She finished.Lex smiled. "Precisely. Lena, if this works it'll be the greatest scientific landmark in human history. Think about it." As if he could read her mind, Lex threw up a hand and added. "At least come to Omega before you say no.""And if I still want to say no?" Lena inquired, fingers finding their way into the pockets of her suit."Then by all means, say no."
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	Deus Ex Machina

* * *

It wasn’t a stretch to say that Lena’s relationship with the Luthor name was infamously terrible. Then again, everything tied to the Luthor name was infamous these days, and Lena always wanted nothing to do with it. 

She was nineteen when she denounced her family and the work they did in the name of ‘human advancement’. Her mother had called it an ‘impulsive, emotion driven response’ to her brother’s human-first agenda with ‘entirely too much publicity’, but Lena didn’t care. She never once regretted throwing her inheritance to the wind in search of a legacy she could be proud of. And for the most part, she had been successful. 

At least when it came to certain circles. 

In particular, Salarian scientists were capable of separating logic from emotion in a way that no other species in the galaxy could ever hope to emulate. So, Lena tracked down Sisan Vibana, and convinced the esteemed expert to overlook the marks made by her family name and instead see opportunity cemented by the weight of Lena’s academic resume. 

At first, she was little more than a glorified intern providing researchers and clinicians with whatever the equivalent of coffee was to each of the respective species that made up Dr. Vibana’s staff. But Lena was tenacious; she refused to settle as an errand girl and leapt at any opportunity she could find to prove her value as a scientist to the team. By the time the Keroubic Plague made its way through the Batarian Slums of the Citadel, Lena had earned Sisan's trust, and as the only human on the team facing a sickness that humans were mysteriously immune to, Lena finally had a chance to carve her path. It was hard, painstakingly detailed work, but in the end, it was Lena’s presence in the field and her meticulous documentation that formed the backbone of their search for a cure. 

Afterwards, Dr. Vibana made Lena one of her lead scientists, where she spent years studying the effects of human born pathogens in foreign territories, utilizing her natural immunity to treat patients and create vaccines. It wasn’t much; nothing substantial enough to rave about in the galactic reports, or bold enough to pique the interest of her mother or her brother, but she was proud of her work nonetheless. 

So, why then, was her brother trying to reach her now? 

Lena stared down at the incoming request on her private terminal, her bottom lip tangled between her teeth. She hadn’t heard from Lex since she split from the family. Of course, she had heard about Lex. It didn’t take much to find announcements of the achievements of the perfection of human kind. The whole thing made her sick, really, but who was she to the perfect human? Not one worthy of passing judgement. At least, probably not in the eyes of anyone who matters. 

Her private terminal flashed again with Lex’s request and with a pang of regret equal if not more than her morbid curiosity, she answered the call. 

“What do you want, Lex?” Lena asked as her brother’s holo formed across the room. 

“It’s good to see you too baby sister,” Lex cooed, much to Lena’s disgust. “What has it been? Five years? Six?" 

Lena rolled her eyes, her tongue popping with an annoyed click. "What do you want, Lex?" she repeated. 

Her brother smiled as he laced his fingers behind his back, this skin of his cheeks wrinkling with a smile like waning moons. "I've discovered something incredible." 

"What does your 'incredible discovery' have to do with me?" She could feel her eyebrows arching with skepticism, her jaw flexing under the forced poise and buried anger that came with seeing her brother’s face (holo or not) standing in her home. 

Lex always had the uncanny ability to know exactly what buttons to press to acquire the response from Lena that most suited to his needs. If he were actually here, she knew he would be running his fingers down the spines of old books that lined her bookshelves, counting the datapads on her desk, looking at each hair on her head that had fallen out of place. Instead, he folded his hands behind his back, the blue holo clipping when his eyes shifted down her frame and then back up again. He opened his mouth as if he were to comment on her appearance (to disapprove she was certain), but his jaw snapped shut, his brow twisting as his eyes focused on something Lena couldn't see. 

A moment passed and Lex brought his attention back to Lena with an inward sigh. "I need a scientist," Lex said. "One I can trust to know better than to make miscalculations. Someone who won't let emotions get in the way." He straightened his suit jacket, pulled at his tie. "And you know as well as anyone that no one in the Galaxy can work to the standards of a Luthor except—" 

"A Luthor," She finished. 

Lex smiled. "Precisely. Lena, if this works it'll be the greatest scientific landmark in human history. Think about it." As if he could read her mind, Lex threw up a hand and added. "At least come to Omega before you say no." 

"And if I still want to say no?" Lena inquired, fingers finding their way into the pockets of her suit. 

"Then by all means, say no." 

* * *

Lena took a shuttle to Omega the next morning despite her better judgement. Something about her brother’s message, beyond the fact that he bothered to send it at all, grated against the back of her mind. 

“Then by all means, say no,” she repeated, thinking about that disgusting level of confidence that dripped from his holo. What could that possibly mean? 

Omega was surprisingly warm, smelled like Vorcha piss, and had visible signs of the air filtration system failing. Everything looked disgusting, like looking through a clouded over fish tank, and it smelled even worse. Putrid and warm and reminiscent of something shitting itself before it died. But, that’s how Omega always was. It’s how it will likely always be – at least, in her lifetime, that is. 

Every time Lena came to Omega, she felt like she was going to need at least half a dozen decontaminations in order to feel even remotely like herself again. But at the same time, there was a strange familiarity to the slums that rang back to her early days on her own that somehow always put her in something of a pleasant, nostalgic mood. It was here that she had her first success not as the daughter of the infamous Lionel Luthor or the sister of the even more infamous Lex Luthor, but as Lena. Just Lena. And it was here that her career was able bud into something she could be proud of. 

“You’re Lena Luthor,” said a heavily armed man in silver and white armor with the Luthorcorp logo emblazoned on the chest, his face hidden by a polarized helmet. 

Lena looked him over, her eyes lingering on the two guns on his back and the pistol readied in his hands at his hip. “Yes,” she said cautiously, her chin bobbing in a slow, unsure nod. “I am.” 

“Follow me.” 

Luthorcorp didn’t exactly have a reputation Lena was particularly keen on brushing up against any time soon, but that damn morbid curiosity again... Lena touched the pistol tucked away under her suit and nodded again, allowing herself to be guided down through narrow alleyways and forgotten passages until they reached a heavily guarded warehouse. 

She watched the soldier as he brought up his Omnitool, a glowing orange device wrapped around his dominant forearm, and with a wave of his hand the red lock on the door to the warehouse flashed to green. She waited patiently, watching as the soldier proceeded to punch something in on his Omnitool, converse quietly with the stationed guards, and then open the door. 

“This way, Ms. Luthor,” he said, waving her in. “Mr. Luthor is waiting for you.” 

Of course, Lex wasn’t actually there, but his holo was; hands clasp behind his back and bald head shining under the light. No one made bald a statement like Lex Luthor did, and she doubted that any human in the galaxy could make such a power move the way he did out of his lack of hair alone. So much so that in the six years between her departure from the family and now, and he hadn’t changed a thing about his appearance. The man didn’t even look a day older than he had when she walked away. His beard was a but thicker, perhaps, but that was all. His suits were the same, his eyes were the same, the way he stood before her (even as a holo) was exactly the same. 

She crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her weight to one side, eying his holo with immense distaste. It was awful enough to see his holo in her home, but to not even be graced with his presence after she agreed to come here at his request? It only served as a jumping point to hate him even more. “Why am I not surprised that you couldn’t be bothered to come here yourself?” 

“The very reason you can walk about freely on Omega is the same reason why I cannot, dear sister.” 

“Aliens like me more?” 

“Try circumstance,” Lex told her. “My work requires the upmost attention and care. If I were to leave Veliza, even for a moment, this entire operation could fall apart.” 

“Veliza?” 

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Lena. We both know you’re smarter than that.” 

Lena frowned, and then she realized, her lips forming the question before she could even think to stop herself. “How?” 

Lex breathed a laugh and unclasp his hands from behind his back. “Science, of course.” 

Lena rolled her eyes. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure why she was here. It wasn’t like she expected a civil conversation, or... any conversation. Truth be told, she didn’t expect to see her brother at all, even in holo form. She thought for sure that he would send some information broker to hunt her down and relay some stupid message or another. She expected it to be a waste of time. 

But Lex did have something to show her: Veliza – his, apparently, newly conquered super base. 

“That’s it? Veliza is your “something incredible” that you just had to tell me about?” 

Lex shook his head. “If that was all contacting you would be a complete waste of my time.” 

“Unless you actually tell me something worth my while, this whole you contacting me thing is a complete waste of my time. How did you colonize Veliza?” 

Lex’s lips twisted into a smile. “Why don’t you let me show you? I have a shuttle just outside ready to bring you over.” 

Lena bit down on her cheeks, her lisp pursing. “Why would I ever do that?” 

Lex shrugged. “Because you’re a Luthor. And whether you like it or not, we always have to get involved in one great discovery or another. So, why not this? I can promise you, Lena... There is nothing in the Galaxy that comes even close.” 

* * *

Velzia was a beautiful, verdant planet not far from the Asari home world. It’s lush with jungle and teaming with life under ever present, dual lavender moons and, were it not for the gravity being nine times that of Earth’s own or the perpetually wet, acid-y air, it would have been colonized and drained of resources hundreds – if not thousands – of years ago. And being untouched by galactic colonization of any species, Lex was obsessed with the planet’s secrets since he was a boy. So, it was only fitting, Lena realized as the shuttle docked to the Research Station emblazoned with the Luthor logo, that he be the one to finally breach its inhabitable atmosphere. 

“If you could sit tight for just one more moment,” her shuttle driver said as he flipped a series of switches overhead. “Still waiting for the green on atmospheric and gravitational synchronization.” 

The shuttle that brought her down to the station was monstrous and gaudy, and despite the fact that it was nearly twice the size of a standard shuttle, it had room for two passengers and a pilot, at most. It was built like a 21st century tank without the continuous track or canon, meant only to keep the passengers inside alive in an otherwise life-threatening environment. Thankfully, she was the only passenger and there was enough room for Lena sit comfortably for the slow descent through the atmosphere. If someone else had joined them, they'd have been insufferably close. 

“It's not often the Luthor’s bring in new faces around here,” the pilot chimed from the cockpit in some poorly constructed attempt to make Lena feel less awkward. “You ever done work with Luthorcorp before?” 

“I wouldn’t say ‘with’.” Lena said as her heel drove tiny circles into the shuttle floor. 

“But you do know them?” 

“I do.” 

The pilot ran his finger across a row of blinking lights on the dashboard and after one turned from red to green, he said, “Good. Then I don’t need to tell you what sort of man Lex Luthor is.” 

Lena arched a curious brow but didn’t bother to prod the pilot. Instead she pushed away the wrinkles of her pencil skirt, wondering if she should have opted for more practical attire… or perhaps something bolder; something that said, "You need me, I don't need you." 

Two more lights flashed green. 

A hiss escaped from the hull of the shuttle and the magnetized locks on the door thumped as they rotated in heavy, 30°increments. The latches released, setting the door free with a groan and Lena ducked her head low as she passed through the open door and into the decontamination chamber. 

Decontamination commenced in standard fashion in a small grey room that separated the facility from docking bay. Her ears were ringing from the change in pressure and she felt light headed despite the fact that body moved sluggish and slow; like she was sick with the flu or waking up from general anesthesia. She pressed her thumb and index finger to her temples, rubbed slow circles into the skin, and exhaled a shaky breath in the comfort of the sealed chamber. It was the last hesitant breath she could afford herself to take here and she silently thanked her luck that its culprit was as much atmospheric pressure as it was nerves. 

She steeled her jaw, her gaze lifting as the doors unlocked with a cheery chime and found Lex standing on the other side. He greeted her with open arms; his bright, perfectly manufactured smile sparkling like diamonds as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He smelled like sage and citrus and Lena wrinkled her nose as the fabric of his suit grazed along the back of her neck. 

"I'm glad you're here," he said, ushering her down the halls. "There is a mountain of work that needs to be done and it's so far up your alley that the entire project is just screaming your name." They passed through air locked doors and hung left. "And I can't forget to mention that the timing is perfect. You're exactly who I need right now to really drive this project forward." 

Lena couldn't remember the last time Lex babbled like an excited child. It was almost endearing. "What makes you so confident that this is work I'll enjoy? Based on our family's history, you know the last thing I want is to be tied to your work with Cadmus." 

"Your work with foreign pathogens and galactic exposures," Lex said. "It's extremely compelling. Fascinating, even." 

"You know about my work?" 

"With the Salarian doctor, yes." He waved a hand. "But her view is too narrow minded. She's prevented you from seeing the broader picture." 

"And you're going to… What? Expand my horizons?" 

Lex smiled. "In a sense. Do you remember our father’s research on Eezo exposure and mutagenics in utero?” 

Lena nodded. 

“Good,” He said vaguely. “Then you should have no problem understanding what it is I’m about to show you.” 

“You’re experimenting on infants?” Lena asked, voice dripping with disgust. 

Lex waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not a monster, Lena,” he said. “Ah, here we are.” 

A door at the end of the hall opened with a hiss and Lex guided them inside. The room appeared to be a standard medic chamber with two service beds and VI – or more possibly – AI assisted technology. She wasn’t exactly well versed in the functions or even the names of most medical technology and she found herself chewing on her cheeks at the sight of such unfamiliar equipment. “Lex, are you sure you know what it is my specialty is? Because,” she picked up something that looked like injection device and turned it over in her hands. “It’s not this.” 

Lex smiled and waved her through the room. “Just come here,” he urged. 

Across the room on the far wall was a large window that overlooked the jungle. Lex, still with his hands clasped behind his back, was looking out into the mass of strange foliate, as if he were looking for something very specific. His brow wrinkled as he tapped the glass with his index finger, all of nothing happening at his prodding and after a few moments of nothing, he sighed and turned away from the glass. 

That was when Lena saw it. A human, dressed in the white and silver of Luthorcorp design, standing in the Veliza jungle. 

Lena’s mouth fell agape and she pushed Lex out of the way as she dashed to the glass. Her fingers pressed against the clear barrier between them, watching as a golden-haired woman with crystal blue eyes stared curiously back at her. 

“Lex,” she whispered. 

Through the glass, the woman stepped closer. Her fingers pressed against the glass where Lena’s rest on the other side. She watched as the woman tipped her head to one side, let her eyes fall to Lena’s again as she pulled her hand from the barrier between them. 

“Well,” Lex said, turning back around and meeting the gaze of the woman beyond the base, his voice full of frustration. “There’s _one_ of them.” 

* * *

As it turned out, there was not one, but two humans capable of traversing the Veliza jungle, both of whom were the product of immense experimentation by her brother. 

“They were attacked by the Blood Pack in the Terminus Systems and left for dead,” Lex explained as Lena scanned over the documented history of their two super humans as they took seats on the identical medical beds. “Both Systems Alliance. Legally, both now dead.” 

Well, that information at least made this slightly less horrendous. 

The older of the two was a tall, athletically built man with dark hair and the same shockingly vivid, crystalline blue eyes as the woman she had earlier encountered – an effect of which Lex explained came as a result to their varying levels of Eezo exposure used to save their lives. According to his chart and the official Alliance reports on his death, the man was once named Clark Kent, though he didn’t seem to respond to the name now. 

“We’re working on that,” Lex said when Lena failed to get his attention by reciting information about his past aloud. 

The other of the two was several years Clark’s junior and, according to Alliance records, was his biological cousin – a woman once named Kara Danvers who also no longer responded to the names listed in official records. She was taller than Lena, muscular and broad in the shoulders, and of the two she had a much more relaxed demeanor about her. In fact, she watched Lena with an almost, childlike curiosity about her. 

“How long have they been...” Lena pursed her lips as she racked her brain for the right word. 

“Awake?” Lex assumed. “Six days. So far, things have been going extremely well.” 

“So far...” Lena repeated, looking down at the pile of datapads Lex had given her to review. 

Lex smiled and gestured to the male subject, Clark. “Stand up and remove your shirt, would you please?” 

Clark returned the smile, almost mimicking it to a T and stood from where he sat on the exam bed. In one fluid sweep, he peeled the fabric that made up his shirt over his head, letting the sleeves dangle around his forearms. 

Lena raised her eyebrows and threw Lex a confused and skeptical look that was met with a bout laughter. 

“Notice anything?” he asked, clearly trying to guide her in that vague way he always did. 

Lena squinted slightly, her head tipping to one side and she took in everything that was Clark Kent. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to notice. His pretty boy face? His muscled frame? The slight pop of veins in his arms and wrists? He looked like a soldier, a man who ate well and conditioned his body for performance. That was all. 

“Am I supposed to?” she asked. 

Lex frowned at her and then turned to the woman. “You, too. Stand up and remove your shirt please.” 

Lena watched as Kara stood and pulled off her shirt with the same, unattainable grace and fluidity as her cousin. 

But she wasn’t like her cousin. Where Clark was pretty, this woman – Kara – was painfully gorgeous. Flawless, sun-kissed skin against golden hair that swirled down around her shoulders… those broad, muscular shoulders; offset by the swell of her hips. Her biceps flexed with the way she held her shirt, and Lena found herself marveling at the purity and perfection of a woman who was supposedly attacked and left for dead. 

“I thought you said they were attacked,” Lena realized, looking to Lex for answers. 

Her brother was beaming now that Lena had taken notice to his handiwork. “I’m actually quite proud of this,” he began. He grabbed Clark’s arm and lifted it so that Lena could further Inspect his work. “It’s harder to tell on her, what with the bra and all covering those old bullet wounds, but we used Asari Stem Cells to repair their bodies. Every imperfection and impurity has been eliminated.” 

Lena’s brow wrinkled at this. She knew what he was saying. She understood every word, but for some reason it felt foreign and wrong and a little bit illegal even though she wasn’t entirely sure on the ethics of cross species biochemistry. It certainly wasn’t thought highly of, or else it would have become more common of a practice by now. But this was the first successful, first any, attempt Lena had ever even heard of. 

“Asari Stem Cells?” 

Lex look at her, proud. “Wondrous things,” he said. “you couldn’t imagine the power it holds when applied correctly to the human body.” 

Stunned and clearly not reacting the way Lex had hoped, Lena took a step back and deposited the data ad in her hands onto the table. “This,” she realized at once. “This is what you wanted to show me.” 

“It is,” Lex agreed. 

Lena nodded a few times, chewing over the information Lex was willing to share as if it were too hard bread. She still didn’t understand what it was she could provide to Lex in this situation or This, of course, made her feel vile and filthy and completely at odds with her core values. She had built herself as the Anti-Luthor. She was everything Luthorcorp wasn’t and this project, just from the small amount Lex had chosen to share, was everything Luthorcorp was. Everything she rejected. What did it say about her to allow herself to admit that Lex might truly be onto something, for lack of a better term, incredible? 

And then there were these two to think about. Could she really walk away from them, knowing what Lex had done – what he might continue to do – without her there to control the environment? To control the experiments? To put her foot down when things inevitably took a turn down a path that no one deserved to be forced down? 

“What do you want from me, Lex?” 

Lex turned his attention to the two subjects and shrugged. “I’d like for you to take over responsibility for one of them. It doesn’t matter which, but I can’t properly supervise them both and there is no one in the galaxy better suited for this than my own sister. So,” Lex turned to her now and pursed his lips. He looked genuinely nervous and Lena was two hundred percent certain it was an expression she had never seen paint his face before. “What do you say?” 


End file.
